Display devices for artificial fingernails



Dec. 23, 1969 E. v. AYLOTT 3,485,344

DISPLAY DEVICES FOR ARTIFICIAL FINGERNAILS Filed Jan.- 26, 1968 US. $1. 20645.l4 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The underlying idea of this invention is to provide a platform upon which artificial fingernails may be mounted for storage, transport and display purposes.

The platform is shaped so that the artificial fingernails which are coated on the underside with a pressure sensitive adhesive making contact with the platform only intermittently or at spaced apart points. This means that the artificial fingernails are properly held in position, but on the other hand the whole of the underside of the nail is not stuck to the platform. If the whole of the underside of the nail is stuck to the platform it is difficult to remove the nails from the platform for use, and as the nails are removed the pressure sensitive adhesive coating becomes damaged and it may be diflicult to cause the nails to adhere properly to the natural nails.

This invention is concerned with the provision of improved means for mounting self-adhesive artificial nails for wear in a tray or platform for display and storage.

In my earlier British Patent No. 933,981 I disclosed an artificial fingernail shaped in nylon or other suitable plastics material to match the curvature of a natural human nail and coated on the entire inside curved surface with a pressure sensitive adhesive. In order to pro tect the adhesive I coated the adhesive surface with a silicone wax paper until the nail was required for use.

Artificial nails in accordance with my earlier proposal are satisfactory but they are not easy to pack and to handle in such a way as to preserve the pressure sensitive adhesive surface. Further than that the application of the silicone wax paper is a rather delicate step which increases the cost of the nails and manipulation of the nails by the user is also difficult not only because of the need to remove the wax paper but also because the inner surface of the nail is coated with adhesive over its entire surface.

In my copending application S.N. 700,842, filed Ian. 26, 1968, there is provided an artificial nail for wear moulded or otherwise shaped in nylon or other suitable material to match the curvature of a natural nail and coated on the inside curved surface with a pressure sensitive adhesive characterised in this, that the adhesive coating is applied only to that part of the artificial nail that is to adhere to the natural nail and that the tapered end or overlapping part of the artificial nail is not coated and is therefore not sticky.

One advantage of nails in accordance with my copending application is that the uncoated outer end of the nail in effect forms a tab by means of which the nail may be held by the packer or the user without the fingers becom ing sticky and without damaging the adhesive part of the nail while the nail is being manipulated.

Another advantage of nails in accordance with my copending application is that it is unnecessary to cover the adhesive part of the nail for storage and packing.

It is usual to pack artificial nails for wear in boxes with each nail disposed within its own slot in a moulded tray or platform. It is an object of the present invention nited States Patent 3,485,344 Patented Dec. 23, 1969 to provide an improved tray or platform having slots to receive artificial nails for wear.

According to the present invention there is provided a platform to receive artificial nails for wear which are coated on the inside curved surface with a pressure sensitive adhesive over about three quarters of the surface leaving about a quarter of the surface at the outer end uncoated and in which the pressure sensitive adhesive coating is uncovered characterised in this, that in order to minimise unwanted adhesion between the nails and the platform, the platform is so shaped that there is only intermittent contact between the nail and the platform. Preferably the platform is provided with a number of recesses each shaped to receive a single nail and each provided with means to achieve the intermittent contact between the nail and the platform. To achieve this the recesses may each house a raised oval support to contact the nail or each recess may house a number of spaced projections to engage the nail.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood and readily carried into effect reference is now directed to the accompanying drawings given by way of example and in which;

FIGURE 1 is a view of a nail as described above;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view of a nail disposed in a recess in a platform;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of a platform;

FIGURE 4 is a cross-section of a recess in a platform with a nail in inverted position;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of a modified form of recess.

In the drawings a nail 1 has adhesive 2 applied to about three quarters of the inside curved surface while the other quarter of the outer end of the nail remains uncoated and forms a convenient tab 3 by means of which the nail may be manipulated. FIGURE 3 illustrates a tray or platform 4 shaped to provide ten recesses 5 each adapted to receive a single nail 1. Each recess houses an oval raised portion 6. When a nail is placed in position as shown in FIGURE 2 the adhesive part 2 of the nail sits upon the oval raised portion 6 while the tab 3 projects over a lower surface 8 formed in the platform 4. In this way the nail sticks in position by adhesion between the adhesive part 2 of the nail 1 and the oval raised portion 6 while the tab 3 projects freely over surface 8 and may be gripped by the user between the thumb and first finger and levered upwards off the platform for use.

The nails may easily be manipulated by gripping the tab 3 of each nail and after use the nail 1 may, if desired, be replaced on the platform 4.

The invention therefore provides a platform shaped in such a way that the uncoated part of the nail overlaps the lower surface -8 of the platform so that the uncoated part may readily be seized between the finger and thumb.

Further in order to minimise unwanted adhesion between the nail and the platform the platform is shaped so that there is only intermittent contact between the nail and the platform.

FIGURE 3 therefore illustrates a moulded tray or platform 4 to support ten nails 1, each nail 1 having its own recess 5 into which it may be inserted with the uncoated end overlapping surface 8 to form the tab 3 and with the concave inner surface of the nail 1 resting on the raised parts within the recess 5. In this way each nail 1 is held in position because the adhesive adheres to the raised parts of the platform but it is easy to remove the nails because only a very small part of the surface of the nail is in contact with the platform. Removal of a nail 1 from its recess 5 does not therefore damage the adhesive coating 2 as a whole and the overlapping end of each nail forms the tab 3 by means of which each nail may be gripped for removal and manipulation. In this connection it will be noted that each recess in the platform is open at one end so that the nails may project and the recesses are provided in a raised portion in the platform so that the nails 1 project over surface 8. This enables a user to insert a finger under each nail so that each nail may easily be raised up clear of the platform.

It is therefore a feature of the invention to provide a platform to support artificial nails, the platform being so shaped that the nails 1 project from their recesses in the platform for easy manipulation and having means to afford intermittent contact between each nail 1 and its mounting.

After a nail 1 has been used it may be desirable to remove the remaining adhesive and to recoat the nail 1 with pressure sensitive adhesive. To do this the old adhesive may be removed by cleaning the nails with adhesive remover, is then easy to coat the inside area of the nail with new adhesive at that part of each nail that should be coated, leaving the tips 3 uncoated. The nails may then be placed on their mounts upside-down that is with the concave side uppermost as shown in FIGURE 4 to allow the adhesive to dry.

It is therefore another feature of the invention to place the raised portions of the recesses 5 in such a position that the nails 1 may be cradled or otherwise supported with the adhesive or concave side uppermost. This may be easily effected when the recesses house a number of pointed members or spaced projections 9 as illustrated in FIGURE 5 in which case the projections 9 may be suitably disposed to form a central space 10 into which the nail 1 may be inserted. FIGURE 4 illustrates cradling of a nail 1 Within an oval raised mounting which gives line contact at two sides with the nail when the concave side of the nail is facing downwards and which gives full support when the convex side of the nail is facing downwards so that new adhesive may be allowed to dry.

In a box of artificial nails according to the invention we may provide a set of ten nails disposed in recesses in a platform as illustrated and say four spare nails in a bottom tray with a supply of adhesive remover and a supply of new adhesive. We may also provide a strip of wax paper as a protection in case it is desired to trim the cuticle end of a nail to size in which case it is wise to apply the wax paper to protect the adhesive surface while trimming the nail.

In the preferred embodiment We provide at platform as described above having ten recesses therein each provided in an upper part of the platform and each recess having an open end opening towards a lower part of the platform wherein each recess is shorter than the nail it is to accommodate so that the outer end of each nail projects over the lower part of the platform and wherein each recess has an oval raised portion or spaced pointed pins to contact the concave adhesive surface of the nail so that the nails are held in position by adhesion without damage to the main part of the adhesive surface.

What I claim is:

1. A device containing artificial nails, the latter being coated on the inside curved surface with a pressure sensitive adhesive over about three quarters of the surface leaving about a quarter of the surface at the outer end uncoated and in which the pressure sensitive adhesive coating is uncovered, said device comprising a platform provided with a number of recesses each shaped to receive one of said nails, said recesses being provided with 4. 1 raised portions terminating in upper ends having only a small fraction of the area of the adhesive to engage only a small area of said adhesive to achieve intermittent contact between said nails and said recesses.

2. A- device according to claim 1 wherein each recess has three upstanding pins forming said raised portions and distributed to contact the nail one at each side of the recess and at the rear.

3. A device according to claim 1 wherein each recess houses an oval raised portion to contact and support a nail.

4. A device according to claim 1 shaped to support ten nails each nail having its own recess into which it may be inserted with the uncoated end overlapping to form a tab and with the concave inner surface of the nail resting upon raised portions within the recesses.

5. A device according to claim 1 wherein each recess has raised portions so disposed that the nail may be cradled or otherwise supported with the concave side uppermost.

6. A device according to claim 5 wherein the raised portions are spaced projections disposed to form a central space.

7. A device according to claim 1 having ten recesses therein each provided in an upper part of the platform and each recess having an open end opening towards a lower part of the platform wherein each recess is shorter than the nail it is to accommodate so that the outer end of each nail projects over the lower part of the platform and wherein each recess has at least three raised portions in the form of pins to contact the concave adhesive surface of the nail so that the nails are held in position by adhesive without damage to the main part of the adhesive surface.

8. A device to receive artificial nails for wear which are coated on the inside curved surface with a pressure sensitive adhesive over about three quarters of the surface leaving about a quarter of the surface at the outer end uncoated and in which the pressure sensitive adhesive coating is uncovered, comprising, in order to minimise unwanted adhesion between the nails and the device, a platform shaped to provide only intermittent contact between the nail and the platform, said platform having ten recesses therein each provided in an upper part of the platform and each recess having an open end opening towards a lower part of the platform wherein each recess has a raised oval support to contact the concave adhesive surface of the nail so that the nails are held in position by adhesive without damage to the main part of the adhesive surface, each raised oval support having an upper concave surface directed toward the adhesive surface of the nail.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,764,166 9/1956 Bogoslowsky 132-73 2,819,180 1/1958 Koenig. 3,297,150 1/1967 MacMahon et al. 206-45.14 3,394,717 7/1968 Hollinger.

FOREIGN PATENTS 1,017,199 1/ 1966 Great Britain.

MARTHA L. RICE, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

